NONFERROUS METALS PRODUCTION-ADVANCES IN PROCESS TECHNOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

摘要

The nonferrous production industry has gone through a remarkable transformation in recent years in terms of developing and adopting new technologies. Technology innovations have largely been driven by the need for greatly improved environmental protection in addition to increased productivity. One of the most notable aspects of the new technologies is their ability to reduce the emission of sulfur and other pollutants to extremely low levels. The current industry trends towards more environmentally friendly technologies are bringing about additional benefits of developing more efficient, technically advanced, and continuous processes in closed reactor vessels. Key aspects of these modem trends include the use of increased oxygen enrichment in the process gas, better process control, reduced manpower requirements, and plant operations with more skilled personnel. Computer simulation and modeling of complex processes have become more reliable, realistic, and thus increasingly useful in metal production. Some of the notable examples are reviewed. Finally, the need and advantages for value-added production in the nonferrous industry are discussed.